Rain
by praesul femella
Summary: She would always sit curl up by the window with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa when it rained. This time, it was differentit stormed. WARNING FLUFFY RR No Flames


Lily always loved it when it rained.  She never quite knew why, for she was always busy when one occurred.  But as she sat by the window in her dorm that afternoon, watching the drops dribble down the glass, it was all she could think about.

She sat wrapped up in a blanket, a cup of hot cocoa in her small hands.  It wasn't even a month into the school year yet, and since she had finished her homework the night before, Lily hadn't bothered changing out of her pajamas that morning. 

The sky began to darken, and the rain pounded harder against glass.  There was a flash of light, and Lily began to count, "1…2…3…" Thunder sounded, and Lily smiled.  She leaned over and grabbed a book before, settling herself into the sill. 

The storm grew worse over the course of the hour, and in no time she had finished the book.  She sighed, and turned again towards the window.   It was practically the gray sky was filled with black clouds, and Lily could barely see the grounds.  There was a series of flashes, and Lily blinked as she saw the silhouette of a person under the beech tree by the lake.  

Wrapping the blanked tighter around her slim frame, she dashed out the door, through the common room, past the curious faces of her faces, only to be stopped at the portrait hole by none other than Sirius Black.  "I won't go out with Potter for you, Black, so don't bother asking!"  Her emerald eyes were alight with fury.  Someone was outside in a possibly dangerous storm, and it was her duty as Head Girl, to bring him or her back inside.  Sirius took one look at her expression, and stepped out of her way, and she dashed out into the hall, down to the Great Hall. 

Suddenly, she was outside, with no protection from the rain.  Lily forgot about the figure under the beech, and smiled up into the rain, letting the large droplets soak her face.  Her hair stuck to her neck and face, and she twirled around, letting the blanket fall.  _This_ was why she loved storms so much.  She felt so free out in the rain.

The sound of hooves broke her out of her haze, and she whipped around.  In front of her, standing in the muddy grass, was the most beautiful stag she had ever seen.  Its fur was a sleek black; it's familiar light eyes full of grief.  Gradually, she took a step forward, and when it didn't flinch, she reached out a hand.  The stag leaned forward to smell it lightly, before licking it. 

She smiled, and began to pet the stag.  There was a clap of thunder, and Lily looked over to the beech tree. No one was there.  She shivered as the stag nuzzled her, and again she noticed its sad eyes.  "What's wrong little fella?"  She asked, not caring that it couldn't answer, more curious as to where she had seen those eyes before.

It looked down and nudged her.  Following its gaze, she noticed a slip of paper on the ground.  She picked it up, and carefully unfolded it.  The words on the soaked paper were blurry, but Lily could decipher a few…_Potter_…_sorry_…_attack_…_parents_…_died_…at the bottom the paper, Lily could see what seemed to be the Ministry seal.

Lily stared at the letter in shock.  Potter's parents had died?  Then _that_ was the reason Black had tried to stop her from going out side!  And Potter must have been the one under the beech tree!  _But where is he now?_  Lily thought, a little worried.  Potter was very vulnerable at the moment, and there was no telling what he could do in a storm like this.

Dropping the letter, she turned to dash off.  However, it was a sorrowful voice that stopped her in her tracks.  "You forgot your blanket."  Lily slowly turned around, and found herself staring into James' deep hazel eyes. The stag was gone, and Lily knew at once why she recognized its eyes.  "You'll catch your death of cold, Evans."

Lily could only blink as he draped his warm and dry cloak over his shoulders, he must have performed some sort of spell to ward off the rain.  She didn't know what to say, her mouth seemed to silently form words that didn't matter.  James let out a hollow laugh.  "It doesn't feel like they're gone.  I keep thinking I'm going to get a batch of cookies from Mum, or letter from Dad on how to get you to like me."  He smiled bitterly, "It's not as if his advice worked.  You don't even care."  He turned and headed towards the lake.  

Lily found herself staring after him.  What _was_ so bad about Potter after all?  He definitely wasn't as cocky as he had been, and she hadn't seen him hex anyone since _May_ of last year.  There was even a rumor going around that James had saved _Severus Snape's_ life.  James had been nothing but kind, it seemed, to the younger students, and even _civil_ to the Slytherins.  Lily had thought something was wrong with him, but now it seemed as if James had finally decided to grow up. 

Making a rash decision, Lily ran after him.  When she reached him, she reached out, and touched his shoulder.  He whirled around, and her breath hitched.  Something was wrong.  She wasn't supposed to find James Potter sexy, but the intense, yet vulnerable look on his face, added to the way his wet hair fell into his face, made something inside her stir, and she knew almost immediately, it was the feelings she had suppressed early in her magical education.  "What do you want, Evans?  I'm not in the mood to be yelled at."

"I just want to say, I—I _do _care."  She said, amazed at the fact that she was blushing.  He snorted, "You just feel bad."  She shook her head, "James, I'm not kidding.   I've always cared, I may not have liked the cocky James, but deep down, I knew you were capable of being human, and that was who I cared for."  With that, she reached up, and pulled his head down toward hers.

            Lily ended up in the hospital wing for a week after that, with a bad case of pneumonia.  But she didn't care that she had a ton of homework, or that she had to take a Pepper-Up potion every four hours, her ears smoking for an hour afterwards.  All she cared about was the rose in the vase by her bed every morning, and the fact that her first kiss was better than she could have ever dreamed.


End file.
